Chapter 151: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 151: Wang Dashan Joins the Army

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Wang Dashan passed the physical test very smoothly, and the news that he was about to join the army quickly spread throughout Shangou Village.

Even Village Committee Secretary Zhang Zhongtian came to congratulate Wang Zhanggen and Li Xiulan.

"Changgen, Xiulan, your eldest son is going to join the army — this is a tremendous joyous event!"

At that time, Wang Zhanggen and Li Xiulan had just returned from the construction site not long ago; Wang Zhanggen was washing the cement dust off his hands and feet, while Li Xiulan was feeding the chickens raised in the courtyard.

"Dashan is going to join the army? How would I not know?"

Wang Zhanggen wore a face full of surprise.

Because when Wang Dashan went for the draft selection, he had only told his two younger brothers and had not communicated with them.

"You didn't know? Your eldest son went for the draft selection and passed the physical examination — only the final admission remains!"

Zhang Zhongtian's face was beaming with smiles.

He hurriedly took out a pack of cigarettes and handed one to Wang Zhanggen:

"Changgen, this is a good thing — our village hasn't had anyone join the army in a very long time; your son is the first to join in the last ten years... no, the last twenty years! As the saying goes, one person joins the army and the whole family is honored — you're going to be famous!"

Wang Zhanggen held the cigarette Zhang Zhongtian gave him between his lips, his heart stunned and bewildered, feeling some joy but simultaneously some anger.

The joy was that his eldest son had become promising — he actually became a soldier; in this day and age joining the army is not easy, even a two-year conscript is supposedly hard to get selected for — you have to send money and pull connections to get picked, yet his eldest son managed to get selected, which is truly worth celebrating.

The anger was that his eldest son hadn't breathed a word to him until now — this simply didn't put him, the father, in his eyes; such an important matter, and he didn't discuss it with him beforehand!

"This brat, went for the draft selection without saying a word to me beforehand — just wait till he comes back, I'll give him a good scolding!"

Wang Zhanggen cursed with his mouth, but a proud radiance also rose on his face.

"Why scold him? He's grown up — making his own decisions is fine!" Li Xiulan didn't have much objection to her son going for the draft selection without a word; she just felt a bit of regret.

In her heart she always felt that since he had already reached Senior Year Three, he should have gritted his teeth and persisted until the Gaokao; no matter what his college entrance exam scores were, at least he would have taken the exam and gotten his graduation certificate.

Going to enlist now — who knows if he can even get his high school diploma?

If he can't get it, wouldn't that mean he wasted three years of high school for nothing?

This weekend holiday, all three sons came back.

The moment Wang Zhanggen saw Wang Dashan, he rebuked him:

"You brat, your wings have hardened, huh — went for the draft selection without telling us in advance, what do you take your father and mother for?"

Wang Dashan rolled his eyes:

"What do you know? What use is telling you? Little brother asked you to sign him up for tutoring classes — did you?"

Wang Zhanggen immediately shouted in anger:

"What kind of talk is that?"

Wang Dashan, expressionless:

"You're right — my wings have hardened. Once I go join the army, even if you want to control me, you won't be able to."

Wang Zhanggen, retorted against by Wang Dashan, grew even angrier — he actually wanted to hit Wang Dashan; fortunately Li Xiulan stopped him.

"The child is this old already — don't hit him anymore. Besides, can you even beat him? Look at the state of your old body!"

Li Xiulan's words pierced into Wang Zhanggen's inner heart like an ice thorn.

He was indeed old now, while his eldest son was nearly 1.8 meters tall and had trained a body full of muscle — he indeed couldn't beat him anymore.

"Dashan, don't treat your dad like that either — he's doing it for your own good. In the future, if there are any important matters, you still have to discuss them with the family!"

Li Xiulan earnestly persuaded Wang Dashan.

Wang Dashan, however, showed impatience:

"Yes yes yes — you've eaten more salt than I've eaten rice! After I join the army, there'll be subsidies every year — you take those subsidies and give them to little brother for tutoring classes, don't delay him any longer. He's the one in our family most likely to test into university. You want little brother to get into university but won't spend the money — where in the world is there such a good deal? You don't even go to the city to see — which kid who studies well in the city nowadays isn't tutored into it?"

Li Xiulan and Wang Zhanggen both stopped speaking.

But judging from their expressions, they probably still weren't too willing in their hearts.

Who knows what they were thinking.

Wang Xiaohua lay prone at the table eating; he felt deep gratitude for his big brother's action.

He swore he would remember his big brother's kindness for a lifetime — if he ever had the ability to earn money in the future, he would definitely repay him properly!

The brief two days of the weekend quickly passed.

In the blink of an eye, Wang Erhai and Wang Xiaohua had both returned to school for classes.

Wang Dashan, however, no longer needed to go back to school.

He had already passed the preliminary selection list and was very likely to be chosen — he just needed to wait patiently at home for the Conscription Office people to come pick him up.

But after waiting several days, there was still no movement whatsoever.

Wang Dashan was calm — because he was very confident in his own ability and felt those recruiting had no reason not to select him.

Wang Zhanggen and Li Xiulan, however, were a bit not calm anymore.

"You think — could it be because we didn't send money to pull connections that our Dashan got squeezed out?"

During dinner that day, Li Xiulan suddenly said this sentence.

Wang Zhanggen froze, his face full of worry:

"That really is a possibility."

"Then should we go send a red envelope? You say our family finally got a chance for someone to join the army — if he gets squeezed out just like that, it would be such a pity."

Li Xiulan's face was full of worry.

Wang Zhanggen put down his bowl and chopsticks, lit himself a cigarette, and fell into thought:

"I heard that enlisting in the army is fiercely competitive now; even if you pass the physical exam, you might still get replaced if you don't hand over a red envelope. How about I personally go to town tomorrow and make a trip to see if I can find some connections?"

Wang Dashan, however, was deeply repulsed by this:

"What are you trying to do! It's just joining the army — do you really think it's some kind of good thing? If you get replaced, then let it go! At worst I'll go back to high school and study again, what's the big deal? Why go giving money to those people! If you really give money, then even if I get selected, I won't go serve! That money would be better spent urgently signing Little Brother up for a tutoring class!"

What Wang Dashan hated most were corrupt officials; ideologically he hated evil like an enemy, and personality-wise he was very straightforward and stubborn, so after hearing his words, Wang Zhanggen and Li Xiulan also found it hard to bring up the matter of giving red envelopes and pulling strings again.

They could only agree on the surface to Wang Dashan that they wouldn't go give red envelopes anymore.

But when night deepened and all was quiet, the couple lay on the bed in the bedroom, and when they brought up this matter again, they still secretly made a decision.

"I just feel uneasy in my heart; no, you should still go to town tomorrow and make a trip to see if you can find connections!"

Li Xiulan said this.

Wang Zhanggen then said:

"Didn't Dashan say not to let us go find connections? He even said if we find connections, even if he's selected he won't go; you also know his personality is extremely stubborn. If he finds out we pulled strings, he might really have the guts to become a deserter. If he becomes a deserter, his life would be ruined. I heard deserters get a stamp marked in their household register — a stain that follows them for life!"

Li Xiulan rolled her eyes:

"You're stupid; can't you just go secretly? Not letting Dashan know solves it! Tomorrow I'll cover for you — you just find some excuse to make a trip to town!"